1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to agricultural harvesting equipment in general and more specifically to large capacity pistachio harvest trailers having means for leveling the load and power assisted drive wheels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Special trailers for transporting and unloading various agricultural products have been in use for many years. The need to move larger quantities of these products, especially nuts, at faster rates from the orchards to the processing plant has became a prime objective. For the farmer to stay competitive, he must have efficient and practical equipment tailored to his needs. A low-slung, large capacity trailer designed for orchard use equipped with bottom dump mechanics is almost a must for efficient harvesting of nuts. This is particularly true of pistachio nuts to accomplish timely harvesting of top quality products. The unique load leveling structure and self-propelling mechanics of the present invention provides the farmer with efficient equipment in a hauling and bottom dumping harvest trailer.
To ascertain past art in produce trailer development, a patent search was conducted at the U.S. Patent Office. The following issued patents show devices which to the best of my knowledge appear most pertinent to my invention:
1. On July 6, 1909, Briggs was issued U.S. Pat. No. 926,724 on a dumping wagon with chain operated swinging bottom doors.
2. U.S. Pat. No. 1,025,359, dated May 7, 1912, was granted to Atkins for a two door bottom dump wagon. The doors opened on either side of a wagon axle.
3. On Sept. 23, 1913, Bartholomew was granted U.S. Pat. No. 1,073,837, for a hopper dump wagon having crank operated double downward swinging doors.
4. Nelson was issued U.S. Pat. No. 1,353,062, dated Sept. 14, 1920, for a partitioned box bed with lever operated center dumping doors for vehicles. The doors swing downward from the center and are pulled back closed by chains.
5. U.S. Pat. No. 1,369,299, dated Feb. 22, 1921, was granted to Peterson for a dumping bed with pivoting bottom doors.
6. On Feb. 20, 1940, McBride was granted U.S. Pat. No. 2,190,724, for a loading device for railway cars designed to load the cars to a uniform capacity. Hopper type bottom dumping is shown in the McBride device.
A variety of trailers with hinged downward swinging doors showed up in the past art patents. Many are very old and mostly for use on wagons. Hinged doors were seen through out the search and some on modern hopper-type railroad gondola cars. Downward swinging dump door are difficult to close and there is no way to vary the flow rate once the load begins dropping. Considerable clearance must be provided between the bottom of a trailer having bottom-dump downwardly swinging doors or the doors cannot be closed unless the trailer is moved away from the dumped load or the load dumped into some type of receiving container. This ground clearance requirement sets the trailer or truck bed high and for orchard trailers, limits the capacity. Equipment designed for harvesting pistachios and other varieties of orchard grown nuts must be limited in height to provide clearance between the top of the trailer and the low overhanging branches of the trees in the orchard. Downward swinging dump doors require clearance which effects the maximum height nut trailer side walls can extend towards tree branches. This limits load space in nut harvest trailers. The length and width of pistachio hauling trailers is also restricted because the turning radii allowances for maneuvering between the trees of an orchard are strictly limited. Small harvest trailers become filled with nuts more often and require unloading with expensive frequency.
Existing nut harvesting trailers are pulled by accessary equipment such as large tractors or very specialized harvesting machines. Generally a harvesting machine is relied upon to provide power for propulsion in the orchard. Also, since the harvester is providing all the power, it must also provide all of the needed traction to pull the nut hauling trailer. Harvesters pulling trailers seldom have any problem as far as power is concerned. However, traction is a problem for the harvester trying to pull an almost full and very heavy harvest trailer in an orchard over sandy or plowed ground, especially if the soil is wet. In order to increase the carrying capacity of a pistachio harvest trailer, the traction problem must be solved. In my invention, I solve the traction problem by equipping the trailer with a self-powering means. My invention also solves the height and capacity problem by providing a low-slung, large capacity nut harvest trailer with sliding bottom dump doors. Neither a low-slung nut harvest trailer with sliding bottom dump doors nor a power assist or self-powered device for harvest trailer use was disclosed in the past art patents.
During nut harvesting, harvesting machines normally use equipment with conveyor belts for fast loading the crop off the harvester into the nut hauling trailer. The position of the conveyor belt in relation to the hauling trailer in tow is generally stationary. The nuts drop off the harvesting machine conveyor belt into the front of the hauling trailer and accumulate in a pile. Uneven disposition of nuts into the hauling trailer leaves unfilled space in the back of the trailer and can result in a pile of nuts higher than the top of the trailer side walls in the front. Although augers have been used in aggregate railroad cars (U.S. Pat. No. 2,190,724) and tried in trailers, augers in nut hauling trailers damage the nuts and are not very efficient. In my trailer, I provide a visual means for watching the load level and a mechanical means for leveling the load which does not damage nuts.
Another disadvantage of many presently used trailers and past art disclosed devices is that they are designed to be towed from only one end usually necessitating more turning around in the close confines of an orchard. When a nut hauling trailer becomes full, it is generally disconnected from the harvesting machine and removed by a large tractor and replaced with an empty trailer. Immediate trailer replacement allows continuous operation with the harvesting machine being shut-down as little as possible during the critical harvesting period. The advantage of my trailer over the one-way tow trailers now in use is that it can be towed from either end. No turning is required to remove my loaded trailer from the harvester and to replace it with another one of my trailers.
Therefore, my invention not only overcomes disadvantages found in devices disclosed in past art patents but it provides a new and improved bulk harvest nut trailer with large carrying capacity and unique mechanics not seen in nut orchard harvest trailers currently in use.